Counseling Yourself Through the Hard

When we find ourselves in situations that tempt us to question the goodness of God (and I don’t mean when we can’t find our keys— although that is frustrating), we can respond in many ways. The situations we find ourselves in are common enough: a chronic illness, the death of a loved one, financial burden, broken relationships, a distant spouse, unsaved loved ones, and the evil and suffering we see around us everyday. If God is all-powerful, all-loving, and all-sovereign (which He is), then we must do battle with our own minds to believe and be thankful for this truth even when the circumstance right in front of us beckons us to believe otherwise. 

Because we struggle with wanting our lives to turn out a certain way, we can respond to continued loss in a way that reveals what our hearts are worshipping. For some, the tragedy of their circumstances with what they believe about God cannot be reconciled. They begin to question God’s goodness and sometimes this leads to apostasy. This process can happen suddenly, as the self-proclaimed atheist may state, “There is no God or else he would have let my child live.” For others the journey is less drastic but in the end requires them to create a god in their own image. An acquaintance of mine recently stated she came to the conclusion that in light of all the suffering in the world, God’s power is limited. 

For those of us still desiring to hold to right doctrine, we can struggle in more subtle ways to find peace in living with a daily reminder that God has answered “no.” We can feel sorry for ourselves, look for comfort in earthly pleasures, make excuses for our irritability, and neglect our commitment to the body of Christ. Sometimes being gathered with God’s people can remind us of the very loss we are mourning. The Bible warns us that in the last days there will be an increase in those who fall away, so we need to remind ourselves that being involved in the life of our church helps keep us safe from doctrinal error that can endanger our souls. 

Since the Bible promises that God’s power has granted to us all we need for life and godliness, then God has given us, through our union with Christ, the desire and ability to please him in any and every situation. We access these spiritual blessings through a variety of ways: prayer, Bible reading, fellowship, and other spiritual disciplines just to name a few. As we abide in Christ, our understanding of how to patiently endure increases, and we can minister to others out of the overflow of our personal and daily meditation on the hope, goodness, and promises of God found in his word.

We live in a world cursed by sin, and therefore some of us carry very painful and heavy burdens. This often causes us to ask ourselves, “Is God really good?” The answer is “Yes!”, but the daily living out of this theology in a way that affects our disposition will require us to die to self. We must reject the belief that we deserve better and instead pursue Christ-likeness where we will find greater joy.

Written by Casey Davidson